FOA Fish experts!

[Tangerinedream]

Ive just noticed one of my goldfish floating at the top of the tank. I thought it was dead at first but it was 'breathing' then it swam away, kind of on its side, barrel rolling around the tank so I assume there is a problem with the swim bladder.

Is there a way to correct it? And if not, will it live for long or will it die before long? I put some food in and it couldnt swim where it wanted to to get to the food. The other fish ate most of the food so it might starve to death

Thanks

 

[sarafet]

not an expert hun, but i know when i was younger and we had a sick fish, my mum put a tea spoon of whisky in the water and the fish perked up

if you do that, maybe it would be better to put it in a bowl of it's own though, incase all your other fishies end up drunk

 

[sarah113]

im not an expert or anything but my mums fish has done that in the past and she puts the tank(its a little plactic one) in the sink and runs the cold water into it (not too fast though) and its usually back to normal again after a couple of hours (she has done this so many times) and she has had this fish for about 10 plus years

 

[abcd1234]

Not sure if there's a fix for it, but usually if our fish start going a sbit funny we just try and keep them "happy and comfy" for as long as possible, but they do usually die after a while.

May not be the case with your problem though

 

[charlie84]

You can get a treatment for swimbladder which you add to the water. Should be able to find it in most pet shops

Reduce the amount of food you give them also this can help get the fish back to normal.

Are they fancy goldfish as they are more prone to getting swimbladder.

HTH

 

[LaineyG]

I had a black moor that this used to happen to all the time.

It depends on the size of the fish, but for a quick fix, you can get a glass jam jar (or any container that has higher sides than width), put the fish into the jar (with water from the tank) and float the jar around the tank. This regulates the pressure in their swim gut and releases any trapped air. You should only have to do it for half an hour or an hour.

It used to happpen all the time, so maybe this really is only a quick fix. Maybe the meds you get will fix it for longer!

xxx

 

[Urchin]

OH used to work in a fish place...there is an easy solution :~)

The best thing to give them for this problem is frozen peas. Take just a few, maybe a dozen, and thaw them out in a cup of warm water. When they are soft, smush the pea between your fingers to break the skin of it and drop the flattened pea into the water. Goldfish will eat anything they can fit in their mouth, so it won't be much of a problem getting them to eat it. Feed the goldfish peas for about five days, as well as their normal flake food (but peas first!), and you should see him right himself very quickly.

 

[chickadee1976]

Hi have two fancy goldfish (which i have bred and have very cute babies..but thats a different story)

Mine had prblems with swim bladder i started feeding them mostly frozen foods which sink like bloodwork daphnia and peas as urchin said.

This stops them swallowing to mauch surface air .

You can also pre soak the flake food so it sinks

 

[Rosie1]

i too use whisky....

tranfer some of the water from your tank into a clean bucket / bowl. Pop Mr fish in there, add some whisky (about 1 spoonfull) and away he should go!

 

[ShineyHappyPeople]

You need to isolate the fish in another tank or bowl or something and just buy a bottle of "swim bladder" treatment. Only costs a couple of pound and just follow the instructions on the bottle. The fact he still wants to eat means hes treatable.

Trust me, with solution, he will get better! Make sure the water in the bowl is the same as the tank water and the temperature is the same. Perhaps cover the bowl so hes less stressed - stress always gets fish ill.

 

[daftscotslass]

I second the pea advice. Works a treat and is amazing. My rescued goldfish (used to work in a hotel and some bright sparks had them as a table decoration, leaving 60 goldfish behind) will have been with us for 5 years this year!

 

[ShineyHappyPeople]

The peas will work if its constipation but you can't be certain that it is yet.